Prof. Timur Shegai, "Strong light-matter coupling: from TMDCs to Casimir self-assembly"

Prof. Timur O. Shegai of Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden) presents his work on "Strong light-matter coupling: from transition metal dichalcogenides to Casimir self-assembly" Abstract: Strong light-matter interactions are at the core of many electromagnetic phenomena. In this talk, I will give an overview of several nanophotonic systems which support polaritons - hybrids between light and matter, as well as try to demonstrate their potential usefulness in applications. I will start with transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and specifically discuss one-dimensional edges in these two-dimensional materials. I will show that TMDs can be etched along certain crystallographic axes, such that the obtained edges are nearly atomically sharp and exclusively zigzag-terminated, while still supporting polaritonic regime. Furthermore, I will show that Fabry-Perot resonators, one of the most important workhorses of nanophotonics, can spontaneously form in an aqueous solution of gold nanoflakes. This effect is possible due to the balance between attractive Casimir-Lifshitz forces and repulsive electrostatic forces acting between the flakes. There is a hope that this technology is going to be useful for future developments in self-assembly, nanomachinery, polaritonic devices, and perhaps other disciplines. About the speaker: Prof. Timur O. Shegai graduated in 2003 from Novosibirsk State University (Russia), after which he moved to Israel to continue on the PhD level at the Weizmann Institute of Science. He obtained his PhD on single-molecule spectroscopy and plasmonics in 2008, after which he moved to Chalmers University of Technology (Gothenburg, Sweden) to continue as a post-doc. In 2012 he, obtained a young investigators grant from the Swedish Research Council (VR), which allowed him to form an Assistant Professor position in early 2013. He was promoted to the faculty position in 2017, and now heads a group working on strong light-matter interactions and semiconducting 2D materials. His research interests lie mainly in the field of 2D semiconductors and strong light-matter coupling. More specifically, he is interested in plasmon-exciton interactions, strong coupling, surface-enhanced phenomena such as SERS and fluorescence, quantum and low temperature plasmonics, directional nanoantennas, plasmonic nanowires and various types of sensing. His experimental work encompasses single-particle/single-molecule microscopy and spectroscopy, angle-resolved or so-called Fourier imaging, nanofabrication and electron microscopy.